The Conflict between the CPSU and the Communist Party of Spain in the Lens of American and Soviet Diplomacy, the 1970s

The article analyzes the conflict between the CPSU and the Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España, PCE) in the 1970s through the prism of Soviet-American relations during the era of Detente. Since the late 1960s, the Communist Party of Spain, headed by General Secretary S. Carrillo, began to distance itself from the CPSU, the leader of the International Communist Movement (ICM). In the conditions of the ongoing Cold War, the growing conflict between the parties meant the threat of a split within the ICM, which could not but attract the attention of the United States. The purpose of the article is to determine how the conflict between the CPSU and the Communist Party of Spain was perceived by American and Soviet state leaders, diplomats and the expert community during the 1970s, in order to establish how the assessments of this conflict in the United States and the USSR influenced the adjustment of the foreign policy strategies of these powers. The article examines the key stages of the development of relations between the leadership of the Soviet and Spanish Communist parties – "shadow" and public – as well as the perception of this conflict by Soviet and American diplomats, their assessments and reactions. The research is based on the sources of the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History (RGANI), available documents of the US State Department and the CIA.

Keywords

Detente, USSR, USA, International Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, US State Department, Communist Party of Spain, H. Kissinger, Eurocommunism, S. Carrillo, W. Stabler

Received

15.04.2022

Publication date

30.11.2022

Number of characters

66497

Cite

GOST	Bakshaev M. The Conflict between the CPSU and the Communist Party of Spain in the Lens of American and Soviet Diplomacy, the 1970s // ISTORIYA – 2022. – V. 13. – Issue 10 (120) [Electronic resource]. URL: https://history.jes.su/S207987840022287-4-1 (circulation date: 25.04.2025). DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022287-4
MLA	Bakshaev, Maxim "The Conflict between the CPSU and the Communist Party of Spain in the Lens of American and Soviet Diplomacy, the 1970s." ISTORIYA 13.10 (120) (2022) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022287-4
APA	Bakshaev M. (2022). The Conflict between the CPSU and the Communist Party of Spain in the Lens of American and Soviet Diplomacy, the 1970s. ISTORIYA 13(10 (120)) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022287-4

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 214

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Bakshaev M. V. Vklad Genri Kissindzhera v podgotovku strategii SShA v otnoshenii evrokommunizma // Vestnik Diplomaticheskoj akademii MID Rossii. Rossiya i mir. 2021. № 3 (29). S. 148—175.

2. Bakshaev M. V. Otnoshenie k evrokommunizmu politiko-akademicheskoj ehlity SShA (po materialam zhurnala “Encounter” 1977—1979 gg.) // Universitetskij nauchnyj zhurnal (filologicheskie i istoricheskie nauki, arkheologiya i iskusstvovedenie). 2019. № 48. S. 263—273.

3. Vopreki interesam mira i sotsializma v Evrope. Po povodu knigi General'nogo sekretarya Kompartii Ispanii S. Karril'o «Evrokommunizm i gosudarstvo» // Novoe vremya. 1977. № 26. C. 10—14.

4. Vorob'eva T. A., Yungblyud V. T. Vzaimootnosheniya v treugol'nike SShA — SSSR — KNR v kontse perioda razryadki mezhdunarodnoj napryazhennosti (1977—1980 gg.) // Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta. 2019. № 1 (64). S. 59—82.

5. Karril'o S. «Evrokommunizm» i gosudarstvo / per. s isp. M.: Izdatel'stvo «Progress», 1978.

6. Karril'o S. Zadachi ispanskoj molodezhi. M.: Molodaya gvardiya, 1938.

7. Karril'o S. Posle Franko — chto? Ispaniya: dejstvitel'nost' i perspektivy. M.: Izdatel'stvo «Znanie», 1966.

8. Leonkhard V. Evrokommunizm. Vyzov Vostoku i Zapadu / per. s nem. M.: Izdatel'stvo «Progress», 1979.

9. Rubbi A. Mir Berlinguehra. Predislovie M. S. Gorbacheva. M.: «Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya», 1995.

10. Ulunyan A. A., Bukharmedova L. M. Evrokommunizm: mezhdu kommunisticheskim imperativom i demokraticheskim idealom // Levye v Evrope XX veka: lyudi i idei / pod red. N. P. Komolovoj i V. V. Dam'e. M., IVI RAN, 2000. S. 296—329.

11. Chernyaev A. S. Sovetskaya politika 1972—1991 gg. — vzglyad iznutri. Dnevniki. 1977 g. [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/rus/text_files/Chernyaev/1977.pdf (data obrascheniya: 09.08.2021).

12. Yungblyud V. T., Il'in D. V. Popravka Dzheksona-Vehnika i razvitie sovetsko-amerikanskikh otnoshenij v 1972—1975 gg. // Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta. 2020. № 13 (2). S. 7—39.

13. Alba V. The Communist Party in Spain / trans. by Vincent G. Smith. N. B., L.: Transaction Books, 1983.

14. Blanco A. A. El PCE y PSOE en (la) Transicion. Cambio politico y evolucion ideologica. Tesis Realizada. Universidad de Extremadura. Departamento de Historia. Diciembre 2009.

15. Carrillo in Moscow: Sound and Fury. 1977, November 6. From: Russia, Moscow. To: Secretary of State. Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1977MOSCOW16208_c.html (data obrascheniya: 17.05.2021).

16. Carrillo S. Eurocommunism and state. Westport, Conn.: Lawrence Hill & Company, Publishers, Inc., 1978.

17. Hovey G. Spanish Communist Takes Tolerant View of Washington's Coolness // New York Times. 1977. November 22. P. 2 [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/22/archives/spanish-communist-takes-tolerant-view-of-washingtons-coolness.html (data obrascheniya: 09.08.2021).

18. Judis J., Wellman S. Did American CP set Carrillo up? // In These Times. 1977. December 14—20. P. 2.

19. Powell C. El amigo americano. España y Estados Unidos: de la dictadura a la democracia. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg, 2011.

20. PR 76 10069. Soviet Policy and European Communism. Research Study. October 1976. Central Intelligence Agency Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room (CIA FOIA ERR) [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00889A000800190001-1.pdf (data obrascheniya: 12.04.2021).

21. Spanish Communist Response to Soviet Attack. 1977. June 28. From: Spain, Madrid. To: SECSTATE BERLIN. Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1977MADRID04849_c.html (data obrascheniya: 13.07.2021).

22. The Spanish Communist Party: Then and Now. 1976, April 14. From: Department of State. To: Group Destinations All European Diplomatic Posts. Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976STATE089610_b.html (data obrascheniya: 10.05.2021).